Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2005) by Rick RiordanSynopsis from the book flap: Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school...again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. and worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.
Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus's stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed in his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.
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My take: This is a very good fantasy novel for young people. Once the introductory chapters are done and Percy begins to find out who he is, the action picks up and things get pretty exciting for the twelve-year-old who has never felt like he belonged. An adventurous coming-of-age series that teaches lessons in self-reliance, friendship, loyalty, and courage. It's pretty appealing to us oldsters who appreciate fantasy as well as young people. And I thoroughly enjoyed getting reacquainted with the gods and heroes of mythology that I learned about many moons ago in school. It was interesting to see how Riordan brought the ancient gods into the modern world. I'm very glad that one of my challenges this year forced me out of my mystery comfort zone to read more fantasy and literary fiction this year. ★★★★
3 comments:
I love this series it's great to see others do too. I love Greek mythology so it's great to see that incorporated.
Made into a movie which I watched back in 2010 and thought utterly mediocre. Geared to a teen audience and I wasn't able to recapture my inner teen the night I watched it. Gave it only two stars on my Netflix account. I must've been really bored. I don't remember anything about it! Also made into a musical. It was here two years ago (I think) as part of a national tour and I wanted to see it but didn't get to it in time. Those tours blow in and out of Chicago, sometimes in less than a week. Now I see it's on Broadway! I've heard some music and thought it upbeat, youthful and catchy.
John: I'm not sure I'd want to see the movie (or a musical), but the book was entertaining. From what I saw of the movie trailer--they changed things quite a bit (Percy starts out older, for one thing).
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